went to visit my friend's little bro in the army and heard THIS story

okay so buckle up because this one is wild. and i have to be upfront, this didn't happen to ME directly, it's a story my friend's younger brother told us in person while we were all drunk together. but he was THERE. his whole unit was there. so it's as firsthand as it gets.

some context first. this was during the North Korean submarine infiltration incident. if you know, you know. if you don't, basically a North Korean sub ran aground on the east coast and the crew scattered into the mountains of Gangwon province. the whole country lost its mind. i was between jobs at the time (quit one, waiting to start the next) so i was just rotting at home watching the news all day. it genuinely looked like war. every time i ran into anyone we'd talk about nothing else.

few months after everything died down, i get a call from my buddy Lim. can you drive me to Gangwon? his little brother finally got a day pass approved, their dad hurt his ankle so he can't drive, and Lim himself... look. his driving reputation among friends was. let's say. not great. so he needed me. i had two months free before my new job started and honestly i was going insane from being cooped up so i said yeah let's go.

we drove up in his family's Daewoo Brougham. and oh my god that car. i know it was old but driving it on the highway?? INCREDIBLE. the weight of that engine in the front, the cornering feel, i was genuinely in love. i remember thinking i need to buy one of these when i have money. anyway.

we drove all the way past Inje, deep into the mountains. i actually served in the 12th Division out there so i knew the area well. pulling into Wontong gave me so many feelings. the teahouse i used to sneak off to on overnight passes was still there. (i wondered if Kim-yang was still working there... lmaooo)

we got to the base, filed the visitation paperwork, waited about 30 minutes at the family visit center, and then Lim's little bro walked in. corporal at the time. his salute was a little sloppy ngl lmaoo. we took him out to Wontong for the night since it was a 24-hour pass, got a motel room, the parents rested while the three of us hit the sauna and then went to get meat.

bro. watching a soldier eat. the pork wasn't even cooked yet and it was already in his mouth. we're all cracking up, it's a whole vibe.

parents go back to the motel early. it's just us three now with soju. and obviously, OBVIOUSLY, the conversation turns to the submarine incident.

this kid starts going OFF. you know how military stories are like 70% exaggerated? but you still listen because they're *good*. he's telling us he was on a search patrol, heard something in the dark, fired his weapon. probably cap but we let him cook.

and then. he gets quiet. serious face. and he starts telling us the actual story.

so. the day the submarine news broke, his unit happened to be on day ONE of a full battalion ATT exercise. the whole unit was out in the field when word came down. rumors were flying that it wasn't just the sub crew, that a full battalion-strength armed force had invaded. like, people genuinely thought it was the start of the war.

they halted the training immediately. everyone got called back to base. within days the whole unit got deployed out, split into search teams, perimeter guard teams, and civilian control teams (basically blocking access to the mountains and gravesites where locals might wander in).

that left basically nobody at the actual base. a few guys in the infirmary, some cooks, some HQ personnel, and SIX short-timers. guys who were weeks away from discharge.

these six short-timers plus whatever sick guys could walk got assigned to base security. the main gate fell to whoever among them had the most seniority, which meant standing at full attention all day in view of everyone. weeks before getting out of the army. standing guard duty. these guys were LOSING THEIR MINDS.

the back gate was different though. basically nobody used it. you could make ramen back there and it wouldn't matter. but the main gate meant holding your posture for hours straight.

and the situation just kept escalating. late September, almost Chuseok. Gangwon mountain valleys in late September? cold. standing guard all day in that? not fun.

some troops came back to base in the evenings but during the day it was just empty and boring. then word came in that the infiltrators' movement route had reached the Hyangno Peak area nearby. so even the guys coming back at night had to stay out for overnight guard duty.

now it's two of these short-timers who have been standing main gate duty ALL DAY and now they have to do overnight too.

but here's the thing about this base. it wasn't on the main road. it was like five minutes down an unpaved dirt road from the highway. and at night, because the road was so narrow, you could see headlights coming from really far away before any vehicle or person actually reached the gate.

so these two guys figured. ok. we'll see anyone coming way before they get here. we have time.

they stacked their gear and rifles to the side. broke out some ramen. added some Gangwon Gyeongwol soju to the situation.

(spoiler: it gets worse from here)

...

and that's where he left us hanging that night because we ran out of soju lmaooo. i'm still annoyed about it honestly.